Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women in the U.S., and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women. While the 1980s saw a sharp rise in the number of new cases of breast cancer, that number now appears to have stabilized. The drop in the death rate from breast cancer is probably due to the fact that more women are having mammograms. When detected early, the chances for successful treatment of breast cancer are much improved.
Breast cancer, which is highly treatable by surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy, is most often curable when detected in early stages. Mammography is the most important screening modality for the early detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer is classified into a variety of sub-types, but only a few of these affect prognosis or selection of therapy. Patient management following initial suspicion of breast cancer generally includes confirmation of the diagnosis, evaluation of stage of disease, and selection of therapy. Diagnosis may be confirmed by aspiration cytology, core needle biopsy with a stereotactic or ultrasound technique for nonpalpable lesions, or incisional or excisional biopsy. At the time the tumor tissue is surgically removed, part of it is processed for determination of ER and PR levels.
Prognosis and selection of therapy are influenced by the age of the patient, stage of the disease, pathologic characteristics of the primary tumor including the presence of tumor necrosis, estrogen-receptor (ER) and progesterone-receptor (PR) levels in the tumor tissue, HER2 overexpression status and measures of proliferative capacity, as well as by menopausal status and general health. Overweight patients may have a poorer prognosis (Bastarrachea et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 120: 18 [1994]). Prognosis may also vary by race, with blacks, and to a lesser extent Hispanics, having a poorer prognosis than whites (Elledge et al., Journal of the National Cancer Institute 86: 705 [1994]; Edwards et al., Journal of Clinical Oncology 16: 2693 [1998]).
The three major treatments for breast cancer are surgery, radiation, and drug therapy. No treatment fits every patient, and often two or more are required. The choice is determined by many factors, including the age of the patient and her menopausal status, the type of cancer (e.g., ductal vs. lobular), its stage, whether the tumor is hormone-receptive or not, and its level of invasiveness.
Breast cancer treatments are defined as local or systemic. Surgery and radiation are considered local therapies because they directly treat the tumor, breast, lymph nodes, or other specific regions. Drug treatment is called systemic therapy, because its effects are wide spread. Drug therapies include classic chemotherapy drugs, hormone blocking treatment (e.g., aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and estrogen receptor downregulators), and monoclonal antibody treatment (e.g., against HER2). They may be used separately or, most often, in different combinations.
There is a need for additional treatments, particularly treatments customized to a patient's tumor.